I'm in my summer boredom phase, so I've been going through my boyfriend/roommate's book collection...I recently finished Vonnegut's "Welcome to the Monkey House" (and am eagerly anticipating reading some of his full-length novels soon), then "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn, and "The Education of Little Tree" by Forrest Carter. --both are great lessons about the mistreatment of the earth on the part of greedy consumers, and about a hopeful-yet-idealistic message about how to care for the earth: basically, don't think that being human entitles you to using/consuming more than you friggin' need!......and, then I read seven short case studies by Oliver Sacks in a collection titled "An Anthropologist on Mars", including real accounts of neurological disorders/oddities/gifts of some of his patients. VERY interesting perspectives.

Currently, though I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it, I'm 3/4 finished with the first book of the Harry Potter series (started last night).

I've usually maintained a rather anti-HP attitude, knowing what I did based on the movies and friends' accounts of the books...and so far I've been right about my initial impressions: way too full of cliches and borrowed, unimaginative humdrum. Don't get me wrong, I'm a HUGE fantasy fan, but I've been spoiled by reading Tolkien's work so far. I think I would have LOVED HP if I'd read these when I was 8 or 9.

They're written for kids, man. and that's cool, I want children to read and use their imaginations instead of watching the garbage tube all day...but I still maintain that Harry Potter IS for children primarily, and secondly, for adults to want to keep up with the latest fantasy scene, but haven't the reading skills or patience to read Tolkien. For those who have read both, congrats, but I'm sure you can see what I mean if you compare the two authors' works....

I *kind of* like what I'm reading so far, but again, with the fact in mind that it was written for a much younger audience than myself.

You don't have to be anti-Rowling to like Tolkein. I feel about fiction in general how you feel about Harry Potter. If someone wanted an escapist read, why would someone read Tolkein when they could read Eisley? I personally view fiction as diminished value when compared to nonfiction, but people read what they're drawn to and find value in words that others may not.

I like the Harry Potter books. To me they are about being informed about what's going on in the world and not just taking the government spin. It's about resisting those who are hurting your community without becoming like them in the process. It's about grassroots action. If you are in a different place in your life, you may not get the same things out of the book. It doesn't mean they're not there, it just means those things aren't speaking to you at the moment.

Have any SF fans read the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever? He borrowed Heavily from Tolkein but also did some new stuff. I couldn't read all of the books, principally because I was in highschool at that time and very sensitive to words and the shapes they make, and he tends to repeat the same adjectives all the time. His favourite word in Book 2 seemed to be "encarnadined." I was thinking, "Either get a thesaurus or learn how to use it." :P

I just wondered if anyone had read them all and what they thought of them.

...I like the Harry Potter books. To me they are about being informed about what's going on in the world and not just taking the government spin. It's about resisting those who are hurting your community without becoming like them in the process. It's about grassroots action. If you are in a different place in your life, you may not get the same things out of the book. It doesn't mean they're not there, it just means those things aren't speaking to you at the moment.

I've heard about how the books start to take on a more political air after a while (my boyfriend actually referred specifically to the grassroots aspect too!), which is why I'm still keeping my hopes up and planning on finishing the series. I've just now finished the first one, and again, it's been a lot of fun, child-friendly fantasy fluff so far...no hints yet of much more than the classic good guys vs. bad guys theme, but I know it'll get better. I keep hearing that it starts to get really interesting around book 3. I'm eagerly awaiting some slightly more adult themes to speak to me later on, as my friends have also promised they would.

I should have probably pointed out that I really don't mean to be so harsh on HP fans...most of my friends are avid readers and re-readers of the series, actually. and I certainly don't mean to imply that adults who read Rowling's work are less intelligent than those who read Tolkien, just as it would be silly to assume that all Tolkien readers are actually above-average readers who can fully grasp his work. I just personally prefer loads of details and drawn-out descriptions, hah.

... I certainly don't mean to imply that adults who read Rowling's work are less intelligent than those who read Tolkien, just as it would be silly to assume that all Tolkien readers are actually above-average readers who can fully grasp his work.

LOL. I think that's why I don't mind mentioning that I like HP. I don't think IQ means much if you don't know how to change a tire in the middle on nowhere in the dark, but I took an IQ test in college and I scored among the world's elite. It makes me just arrogant enough to shamelessly enjoy all sorts of lesser entertainment. My next project is to become better at skipping stones.

That's very cool. I have a friend who is about 50, and he read the whole series out loud to his daughter...I think she was in elementary school when he did it though.

Well, thank you. At 20 months, I don't expecter to get a thing out of it other than (hopefully) that reading is good. We read to her tons, and she does have a grand fascination with books.

However, for me, it has allowed me to get through Tolkeins work. I'd tried The Hobbit and Fellowship several times before on my own, and his writing style confounded me. It droned on in my internal voice, but reading it aloud has put a different cadence to his words. It's been a very cool experience.

Just finished "Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life- Volume II" by Drunvalo Melchizedek. Wow! Fascinating stuff. Way out there thinking, but yet... Very intriguing and really makes you wonder/think about what we know and what we're told.

Reading "Getting in TTouch" by Linda Telllington Jones. About reading a horse's personality by his/her physical characteristics (shape of eyes, ears, nostrils, head, how many of and placement of cowlick swirls in hair, etc) and how to work with that in bringing out the best. I have three horses now and have worked with quite a few horses growing up and it's facinating how accurate her findings are! She then goes into some methods of touching/massaging your horse to ease pain, release tension and fear, and build confidence. She also has a book out on techniques to use with dogs and another for cats.

Also reading "Why We Want to Kill You" by Walid Shoebat, a former Islamic and Jihid Terrorist.

I'm nearing the end of A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. It took a couple of trys to get it going (much like The Deer Hunter for me), but on the fourth attempt I find it to be an awesome summertime read.

Just finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. Amazing, tragic yet triumphant story that tells the lives of two Afghanistani women in a war-torn, conservative Islamic society, of people's endurance despite the atrocities we commit against one another. Outstanding piece-- and I'm not normally into choosing unpleasant topics to spend my free time on. See enough of that in real life. ::)